Paul Luckraft reviews ‘The Feasts of the Lord’ by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal (Thomas Nelson, 1997).

Kicking off our coverage of recommended resources for Passover season, Paul Luckraft reviews an older classic on the Jewish Feasts.

There are many excellent books to choose from that teach us about the Feasts but this one stands out in so many ways. When a friend first showed me this book it immediately grabbed my attention. I gratefully accepted the offer to borrow it and within a couple of days I had bought a copy for myself. It is brilliantly and beautifully produced, and is not only a great read but a perfect reference book to return to time and again.

The book is written jointly by a Messianic believer (Marvin Rosenthal) and an ordained minister (Kevin Howard) whose insight into Jewish culture and the Hebrew language is the result of his involvement in the Jewish community and his frequent trips to Israel.

The book aims to keep both Jewish and Christian readers in mind, and is greatly enhanced by over 150 full-colour charts and photographs, which is one reason it stands apart from many other books on this topic. For instance, there is a double page spread of a Passover table, with all the items annotated and described. A separate page gives a close-up of a magnificent Seder plate.

Fascinating Material

The opening section of the book acts as an introduction, containing an overview firstly of the Spring Feasts and then of the Fall Feasts, both written by Marvin Rosenthal. The introduction concludes with information about Jewish time, the year and the calendar, written by Kevin Howard who is also the author of the rest of the book.

The book is written jointly by a Messianic believer and an ordained minister.

In the second section each of the seven Feasts of Leviticus 23 is taken in turn and in each case the format is the same – description, fulfilment, application. Here the book scores highly again. As well as learning about the ancient biblical observance we come to understand how each Feast is observed in more modern times and also, most importantly, its fulfilment in Jesus and what it can mean for Christians today.

The final section is taken up with additional observances, something that other books often omit. The four chapters are on Tisha B’Av (the fast of the fifth month), Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication), Purim (Feast of Lots) and the Jubilee Year. Here there is plenty of fascinating material which is likely to provide something new for every reader.

A Book to Enjoy and Treasure!

Overall, the explanations are clear and very full. Each page is a delight. There is plenty of background information of historical and cultural interest as well as all the necessary scriptural details. This is book to enjoy and to treasure.

To cap it off there is an excellent index with hundreds of entries spreading over 14 pages, enabling you to find all you need quickly and easily as well as realising that hidden in the book are things you didn’t know about. The index itself becomes a starting point for exploration!

Each page is a delight.

There is also a five-page index of Scripture references, a single page bibliography and a chart showing the dates of the Jewish feasts until 2020.

Although I also greatly value other books on the feasts this is one I would recommend wholeheartedly, both to newcomers to the topic and to those with existing knowledge and experience of what the feasts can mean to us all.

The Feasts of the Lord (224 pages) is available from ICM Books Direct for £14.49 or on Amazon.